I fetch data from podio CRM using PHP

Question

I fetch data from podio CRM using PHP language and I fetch data for each element via its id as it is found in this function:

public function getContacts($item_id) {

    $this->contactAuth();

    $item = \PodioItem::get_by_app_item_id($podio_contact_app_id,$item_id);
      return $item;
}

For example we have the 'Status' we show it like this:

$status = $item->fields[6]->values; 

Not all elements get it right though it is the same function.

Sometimes :

$status = $item->fields[6]->values;

and sometimes :

$status = $item->fields[8]->values;

Can we know what caused the problem?

Answer 1

If some fields are empty they will not be presented in the PodioItem object, that is why the position of a particular field in the array may vary (like a Status field in your example).

So instead of using a field index (which may vary), you should get the value from a field by field's External ID (a human readable name like 'title', 'status' etc) or Field ID (a numeric code):

$item->fields['title']->values        // 'title' is an External ID
$item->fields->get(123456789)->values // 123456789 is a Field ID

To know what External ID and Field ID are for a particular field you can list all fields like this:

// Iterate over the field collection
foreach ($item->fields as $field) {
  // You can now work on each individual field object:
  print "This field has the id: ".$field->field_id;
  print "This field has the external_id: ".$field->external_id;
}

Or you can see developer's info on all fields right in Podio in App menu → Developer

And anyways, check the Podio PHP wrapper documentation at https://podio-community.github.io/podio-php/items/ it is pretty useful:)